Moscow, August 3, 2021 – Gazprombank has become a partner of the Skolkovo Foundation’s international program for the development and implementation of innovative green-tech projects – GreenTech Startup Booster 2021. The press conference devoted to the launch of the project’s second season, which took place at the TASS News Agency, was attended by Natalia Tretyak, First Vice President of Gazprombank.
The GreenTech Startup Booster first began in 2020. It featured the participation of more than 850 startups, dozens of which are already at the industrial deployment stage. The program’s projects are aimed at achieving the targets of the Russian Federation in terms of the conservation of natural resources and pursuit of environmentally-friendly development and at reducing negative ecological and environmental impacts, among other things – within the scope of the national “Ecology” project. In 2021, applications for participation in the program are being accepted until September 30.
The project’s critical objectives involve the integration of green technologies into the country’s key industrial sectors. The program is being implemented with the support of the RF Ministry of Natural Resources and the Environment, the RF Ministry of Energy and the RF Ministry of Construction, Housing and Public Utilities.
Within the framework of the accelerator, Gazprombank intends to support the implementation of environmental projects – both from the standpoint of its traditional role as a lending institution, through financing, as well as by functioning as a center of expertise in the field of promoting sustainable development and improving corporate environmental responsibility.
“Technologies aimed at preserving our planet's ecological resources are becoming of paramount importance to the sustainable development of the global economy. Innovations that make it possible to reduce waste, cut polluting emissions and switch to more environmentally-friendly materials enable companies to take a step towards more responsible business conduct. For Gazprombank, it’s important to support promising projects in this area, thereby taking a direct role in reducing harmful environmental impacts,” noted Natalia Tretyak.
The event also featured the participation of Arkady Dvorkovich – Chairman of the Skolkovo Foundation, Pavel Sorokin – RF Deputy Energy Minister, Elena Semenova – Deputy Director of FAO Project Directorate at the RF Ministry of Construction, and representatives of other project partners.
“The environmental field is a key focus of Skolkovo’s activities. It’s an unconditional priority of both the Russian President and the Russian Government. We first launched the GreenTech Startup Booster program last year, and it yielded impressive results. Applications were sent in by more than 850 companies from 190 cities around the country, and dozens went on to be piloted and deployed at the facilities of our industrial partners. And that’s precisely the goal of the program – to build a bridge between the developers of green solutions and those who will embrace and implement the respective technologies. This year, we’ve announced six thematic blocks, representing the most relevant activity areas in terms of achieving established sustainable development targets. All of them are aligned not only with the Russian agenda, but also with addressing the challenges facing the entire global community. We’re hopeful that the GreenTech Startup Booster will assist in finding solutions to the most pressing problems – including in terms of reducing harmful industrial impacts on the environment,” stressed Arkady Dvorkovich, Chairman of the Skolkovo Foundation.